Dominik comes from Germany and, as a young man, discovers the pleasures of fine wines and gastronomy. During an internship, he finds himself in Priorat, and in 2000, he meets Eben Sadie, a South African of the same caliber. Together, they decide to establish Terroir al Limit in 2001 in the small village of Torroja. Eben leaves the project in 2012 to focus entirely on his homeland, where he now produces one of South Africa's cult wines (also distributed by us). Together, they embarked on their adventure in Torroja del Priorat. Their philosophy is very Burgundian, hence the name of their project ‘Terroir al Limit’. Their ambition is to identify unique places or lieu-dits in the region and to do everything possible to bring out the terroir in the most authentic way. It was clear early on that the main work had to be done in the vineyard and that they would only work with old Carinyena and Garnatxa vines, entirely biodynamic. Their first vineyard was Dits del Terra, mainly Carinyena. Shortly after, Arbossar followed, and finally their two grand crus, Les Manyes and Les Tosses. Les Manyes is very old Garnatxa, and Les Tosses are old Carinyena vines. It is very rare to find wines made predominantly of Carinyena. I dare say these are some of the best Carignan wines in the world. Dominik aims to minimize the wood influence in his wines. Therefore, he works primarily with large wooden foudres and cement tanks, achieving almost transparent minerality, unmatched in the region.
When Dominik approached me in 2007, the situation was still challenging for us. We have always had a sweet spot for Priorat, and today we represent an extensive range of domains in this region. In 2009, I was back in the region, visited the estate, and we tasted the entire range, including a small vertical. The quality of what was in barrels from 2009 was absolutely stunning. However, we had no space in our portfolio, so I decided to purchase the wines in limited quantities for my private cellar. I was completely smitten with the style of these wines. A common evolution among many wine enthusiasts: as you age and taste more, you tend to gravitate towards more elegant and mineral styles. This went on for several vintages. I tasted the wines, was thoroughly convinced, but could only buy some cases for my private cellar. It was not until the 2014 vintage that we decided to go all in, and his wines became a full-fledged part of our catalog. Last year, when we could also add Sadie Family Wines from South Africa to our catalog, the circle was complete. We were able to bring together the two founding fathers of Terroir al Limit at La Buena Vida...
From 2014 and especially 2015, his wines began to garner exceptional praise in the international wine press. No one had ever achieved higher scores.
Below is an excerpt from Luis Gutiérrez for Robert Parker:
I mostly tasted wines from 2015, which seems like a great year; for proprietor Dominik Huber, it’s a combination of the team’s experience and the work in the vineyards. The wines seem to be going from strength to strength, with great definition, delineation, and freshness, more transparent to the terroir, more about the place than the varietal—even achieving beautiful floral aromas in the Cariñena, a grape often considered rustic. Not here. But this time, the high-altitude Garnacha on clay and limestone soils really stole the show... And it seems like 2016, a cooler vintage, could be even stronger based on what I saw in the entry-level wines that were already bottled.
Or about 2016, when Les Manyes scored 100/100. He compares the wine to nothing less than Château Rayas, one of the greatest Grenache wines:
The wines from Terroir al Limit keep improving, and they feel better year after year. The detailed work in the vineyards and respectful élevage—moving away from small volumes of oak and more into concrete—also helps to show the naked personalities of the places and grapes. The 2016s are simply superb, perhaps their finest vintage to date. It was not a particularly cool year (as it was in other parts of Spain), but the wines show great finesse and freshness. The pure Garnacha 2016 Les Manyes could be confused with a great vintage of Château Rayas. I think it’s the best wine they have produced to date, and I believe it deserves 100 points.
These are artisanal, completely pure, and biodynamic wines, and therefore not inexpensive.
Enjoy!
Discover Dominik Huber’s wines here